Golf ball tee handling tool



Sept. 14, 1965 H. R. MIOTKE GOLF BALL TEE HANDLING TOOL Filed March 18, 1963 IN VEN TOR. 1559x2211? MGZ'KE.

1977' ORNEYZ United States Patent 3,206,197 GOLF BALL TEE HAYDLING TOOL Harvey R. Miotke, 19314 Hamburg, Detroit, Mich. Filed Mar. 18, 1963, Ser. No. 265,864 1 Claim. (Cl. 273-33) This invention relates generally to golf accessories and particularly to a golf tee handling device.

It is the object of the present invention to provide a golf tee handling tool by means of which a golf ball supporting tee may be inserted into the ground without need of stooping or bending to make such insertion.

Another object of the invention is to provide a golf tee handling tool by means of which a golf ball supporting tee may be readily removed from the ground and retained by the tool to eleminate the need for bending over in retrieving golf tees.

A further object of the invention is to provide an inexpensive tool of the above mentioned character which is durable and yet may be inexpensively made principally of tubular structural members.

Other objects of the invention will become apparent from the following detail description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of my golf tee handling tool;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view, taken along the line 33 of FIG. 2, and

FIG. 4 is a horizonttal sectional view, taken along the line 4-4 of FIG. 2.

Referring to the drawings by characters of reference, the golf tee handling tool comprises, in general, a shaft 10, a body 12 and a tool carrier 14. The body 12 is carried by the shaft on the lower end thereof and the tool carrier 14 is carried by the body 12. The shaft is preferably a hollow shaft to reduce the weight of the device and the hollow shaft provides a convenient place to store extra tees. The shaft may be made of aluminum, plastic or other suitable material and the upper end of the shaft may be closed by a suitable cap 16.

The body 12 is also tubular in form and telescopes over a lower end portion of the hollow shaft 10, as shown for example, in FIGS. 2 and 3. Preferably, the body 12 is detachably connected to the shaft 10 by providing a pair of diametrically positioned bayonet slots 18 in the lower end of the shaft to receive inturned lugs or tabs 20 formed out of the body 12. A coil spring 22, between the lower end of shaft 10 and the body 12, provides compression force to hold the tabs 18 in locked engagement with recesses in the bayonet slots 20. The upper end of the spring 22 abuts a disc 24 which in turn abuts the lower end of shaft 10, and the lower end of the spring seats on a pair of inturned tabs or lugs 26 that are formed out of the body 12.

Like the shaft 10 and body 12, the carrier 14 is tubular in shape, the carrier being telescoped within the lower end of the body and vertically slidable therein. A downwardly extended portion 28 of the tube 14 is bent laterally in a direction to overlie the power end of the tube and is forked or bifurcated, as at 30, to receive the shank of a golf ball supporting tee 32. Overyling the forked tool 30 there is a horizontal abutment 34 bent from a downward extension 36 of the body 12. As

Patented Sept. 14, 1965 shown in FIG. 2, the abutment 34 is bent to extend in the opposite direction from the direction in which the forked tool 30 extends, the abutment overlying the tool in vertical space relationship. The abutment 34 is provided for engagement against the underside thereof by the head of the tee 32 as the tee is held in the slot of the bifurcated tool.

A helical coil spring 36 within the vertically slidable tube 14 urges the abutment 34 and tool 30 toward each other to clamp the head of the tee 32 therebetween. The coil spring 36 has its lower end seating on the abutment 34 and its upper end seating against inturned tabs or lugs 38 formed out of the tube 14.

From the above description, it will be seen that a tee 32 may be inserted between the forked tool 30 and the abutment and held therebetween by the force exerted by the spring 36. With the tee 32 held as above described, the tee can be inserted forced into the ground by pushing down on the shaft 10. The portion of the tee left projecting above the ground is determined by the spacing between the forked tool 30 and the abutment 34. After a golf ball has been driven from the tee, the tee may be conveniently withdrawn from the ground by positioning the tool to receive the tee between the forked tool end and then pulling the tee out of the ground either by lifting or rocking the shaft 10 about the heel 28 of the tool. The spring 36 acts to hold the tee 32 to the tool 30.

While I have shown and described my tee handling tool in considerable detail, it will be understood that many changes and variations may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim is:

A golf tee handling tool comprising, a tubular shaft, a tubular body member attached to one end of said shaft coaxially thereof and having an open end, a tubular tool carrier member slidably mounted within said tubular body member, a forked member to receive the shank of a golf tee, said forked member formed out of the tubular side wall of said body member and having an end bent to extend in a direction transversely over and in spaced relation to the open end of said body member, a spring abutment member formed out of said body member and bent to extend in a direction transversely to the axis of said tubular body member in overlying relation to said forked member, said abutment member to engage the head of a golf tee, and a coil spring within said carrier member and abutting said abutment member and said body member to urge said abutment member and forked member toward each other.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,301,185 4/19 Sorensen 81-3 1,505,318 8/24 Berlow 287-403 1,724,435 8/29 Studwell 29419 1,902,682 3/33 Walrath 27333 2,609,198 9/52 Armstrong 27333 2,801,852 8/57 Hottle 27333 RICHARD C. PlNKHAM, Primary Examiner.

WILLIAM FELDMAN, Examiner. 

